Services

Help & Care is a registered charity that supports people and communities to live the lives they choose. We are here to provide you with information, advice and support that will enable you to take control of your life, make decisions and find support that is right for you.

Support Us

As a charitable organisation, Help & Care relies on the local community. If you wish to support us to change lives and improve communities, there are lots of ways you can help. We always welcome new volunteers, fundraisers, stock for our charity shop or legacies and money donations.

Work With Us

At Help & Care we want to make a difference to people's lives and welcome applications from all to join our team. If you are interested in applying for a role at Help & Care, please use the vacancies page to apply.

Planning your care and support

This factsheet gives you the information you need to be able to plan the care and support you want. It will help you to understand whether you are eligible for support from your local authority or whether you need to pay for and organise your own care and support.

Are you eligible for support from your local authority?

Your local authority will carry out a free assessment of your needs to find out the best way support can be provided. They will also assess your finances to see whether you need to make a contribution towards the cost of any services you receive.

Under the Care Act 2014 local authorities have a duty to assess anyone who appears to need care and support.

The Care Act does not place a duty on the local authority to provide services. Whether a local authority provides services to you depends on whether you meet the ‘national minimum threshold for eligibility’.

National minimum threshold for eligibility

The ‘national minimum threshold for eligibility’ has been set to ensure that all local authorities meet the same minimum level of needs. They must provide for your needs if you meet all of the following three conditions:

1. Your needs arise from, or are related to, a physical or mental impairment or illness.

2. Because of your physical or mental impairment or illness you are unable to achieve two or more of the specified outcomes:

managing and maintaining your nutrition

maintaining your personal hygiene

managing your toilet needs

being appropriately clothed

being able to make use of your home safely

maintaining a habitable home environment

developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships

accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering

making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community, including public transport and recreational facilities or services

carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child

3. As a consequence of being unable to achieve two or more of these outcomes there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on your wellbeing.

The local authority will consider you unable to achieve an outcome if you:

are unable to achieve it without assistance

are able to achieve it without assistance but doing so causes you significant pain, distress or anxiety

are able to achieve it without assistance but doing so endangers or is likely to endanger the health or safety of you, or of others

are able to achieve it without assistance but take significantly longer than would normally be expected.

If you ask your local authority to assess your needs they will use these criteria to help them decide whether you are eligible for support.